As you start any new job or new learning environment, you are bombarded with new words and acronyms.Sometimes you’ll find a written glossary or list of terms but it’s usually out-of-date and hard to find.Terms and acronyms are easy to load to a Wiki which is like an online encyclopedia. The advantage of a Wiki is that it’s easy to update and everyone has access to add or modify information rather than waiting for periodic updating.

Most people remember things through repetition.There are dozens of other techniques that speed up the memory process by linking and rearranging things to make them easier to remember.For example, it’s easier to remember the words to a song than a poem.

Putting words to music is just one memory technique.In building courses, a lot of the time you can build in information delivery in a way that’s easier to remember.Often a model or map can be used to organize information in a way that helps visual learners.

I’ve been surprised by all the people I’ve met who still use Microsoft Word and PowerPoint. They know the minimum amount of features by they still use it a lot like a typewriter.

Ask someone, do you know how to use styles? This will tell you all you need to know about what they know and don’t know.

The problem in learning this program is that people either have to learn on their own so they don’t even know what they should be learning, or they learn about features but never learn how to apply to their work.

When I’m doing facilitation, we often work with these document on a projector instead of flip charts. I’ll tell you that we spend more time on how things were done than the content. It’s the first time most people have see these features.

So when teaching any type of software, I’d forgot about teaching functionality and focus more on how it change the way people work.

I think this is an interesting topic in the world of accelerated learning. Most people learn by trial and error. They really have not formal education on how to learn. The question is, “is learning a skill like everything else that can be taught?”

One of the more interesting ways to learn how to learn is to try to teach something. When you do this, you have to struggle with why others aren’t learning what you’re teaching or it doesn’t stick very long.

Part of it is understanding your own learning style so you can productively work on learning something. For example, I know people who need to write things down to understand and remember something while others need to actually see a demonstration. So if this isn’t part of the way the teacher teaches than can you translate it for yourself.

I also think there are a lot of trick and techniques for things like taking tests, writing papers and even studying. They aren’t always one size fits all, but they’re a start. I remember when I was in school that there were two types of kids that got good grades. One group that really studied hard and spent a lot of time going over things. The other group didn’t study much at all but seem to do well. I think they knew something the other kids didn’t. Because of the school I went to, you can rule out difference in IQs or even social background. They were very similar and at the higher end.

My guess is that one group did things the hard way and the other group had learned how to learn.

Here’s a little something that I’ve been thinking about on learning styles. I find that when I do a sales call or present a concept it often helps to create an analogy or find some visual way of presenting the content. When I do it right, there’s an Ah! Ha! I get what you mean.

In golf, I know that there are some players who have learned by watching great players swing. They see the motion and tempo and can replicate what they see. Others can’t in fact, they think they are doing the same thing but aren’t. There are also feel players. These players improve once they can feel what it’s like to do it right. In fact, they learn more from their successes than failures.

So I think as you lay out a training curriculum it’s good to see if you are addressing these different learning styles and not getting into the rut of always doing it the same.

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This blog is focused on anything related to learning faster. From time to time, I'll be posting about my book Learning Paths: Increase profits by reducing the time it takes to get up-to-speed (Pfeiffer 2004).
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